My Name is MomL

I keep thinking about updating my blog, but I have 2 problems.  I don’t have a chunk of time long enough for me to write an entry, and my brain is mush.  There is a 3rd distraction.  I would rather sit and watch Hope than type on the computer.

My parents (Gram & Pop) were here for 9 days, and they were a huge help.  They stay up at night, so it was nice for me to get to go to bed early.  They would feed Hope from a bottle around midnight or 1am and bring her in the room in her bassinet.  Sometimes Wendy wouldn’t have to feed her again until 5 or 6am.  Getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep in a night is a blessing.  That was great!

My sister (Auntie M) was here for 5 days.  Unknowingly, she arrived with shingles.  It is contagious and spreads as chicken pox to someone who has never had chicken pox.  Feelings were hurt on Saturday when Marcy didn’t think she could hold Hope anymore.  She didn’t hold Hope or help do anything to help Hope for 2 days.  Hope was exposed as soon as Marcy walked in the door on Thursday, and nothing had happened, so Marcy got to hang out with Hope again on Monday.  The Walgreens clinic told us that Hope would have to come in direct contact with Marcy’s break out (rash) to catch anything.  Our doctor’s weekend answering service was much more cautious and told us that the 2 should not have any contact.  The shingles rash was on her back and under her arms, so it wouldn’t be very natural for their bare skin to come in contact in those places.

The ironic thing about that situation is that we are taking Hope to SanFrancisco at the age of 3 weeks old.  We have gotten some negative feedback about traveling across the country with an infant.  The moral of the story is that Hope can be exposed to illnesses in her own home from her own family just as easily as any other place or person.  Hope is getting her immune system from Wendy right now.

As soon as we think we have consistency, Hope changes it.  As soon as we think Hope likes to eat every 3 hours, the next day she will want to eat every 2 hours.  Or she will want to eat every 2 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night.  Or all of a sudden, she will sleep for 5 consecutive hours in the middle of the day.  We (or is it Hope) are flying by the seat of our pants right now. We will worry more about a schedule when Hope is a few months old, and Wendy is getting ready to go back to school – August.

Last night, I had my first “failed as a mother” feeling.  I fed Hope from a bottle (not for the 1st time).  She quickly gulped down 4 ounces of breast milk in record time.  One of the things I have been surprised about is how long it takes for Hope to eat.  She falls asleep in the middle of feeding.  She gets choked.  She has to be burped.  She breastfeeds for an average of 30 minutes, but she has gone for up to an hour.  After Hope eats, Wendy pumps, and one of us burps Hope and keeps her upright for 15 minutes to get some help from gravity.  One feeding usually occupies about an hour of Wendy’s time.  In the middle of the night, if Hope wants to eat at 3am, Hope is probably asleep more than half of that time, while Wendy is awake 3-4am.  That just doesn’t seem fair.  Ha!

Back to the story… I was thrilled with the fastest feeding ever, and I love to feed my little girl.  It is a euphoric feeling!  I was doing my part in helping Baby Hope grow big and strong.  When she finished her 4 ounce bottle, I sat her up to burp, and she spit up 3.8 ounces of breast milk.  It was all over me, her, and the couch.  To put it mildly, I felt terrible!  I think I had sympathy pains all night.  I had heartburn and some reflux.  I think Wendy was mad that I wasted so much of her liquid gold.  Finally, we didn’t know if Hope would be hungry immediately, if she should eat right away or wait the usual amount of time or less for the next feeding.  I was miserable and went to bed.  Probably not for the last time.